George k



(No Model.)

G. K. CUMMINGS. PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

No. 403,921. Patented May 28, 1889.

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WTIVESSES.

UNITED STATES GEORGE K. UUMMINGS, OF PIIILADELPIIIA, PE

MESNE ASSIGNME PATENT OFFICE.

l NSYLVAN IA, ASSlllNUR, BY

NTS, TO THE UNITED STATES %AS ANI) FURL COMPANY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patenta No. 403921, datecl May 28, 1889. Application filed May 22, 1888. Serial No. 274,(380. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

le it known that l, GEORGE K. CUMMINGS, of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have in- Yentcd certain new and useful Improvements in the Proeess of lilanufaeturing Gas, of which the following' is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being' had to the acconpanying drawings as an illustration of one form of apparatus whereby my process may be operated.

My invention 'elates to the manufacture of fuel and illuminating-gas bythe vaporization of oils, the adnixture of superheated steam, and the further addition thereto of certain other gases, as hereinafter detailed and described, the passing of this mixture through retorts heated to a high temperature, and the further passing of the retorted gas through crude petroleum, the lighter vapors of which are driven off and comminglcd with the retorted gas.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive method for the manufacture of either a fixed gas or gas-vapor, as may be desired.

In the accompanying drawings hereto, Figure l is a longitudinal Vertical section taken on the line c of Fig. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference referto corresponding parts.

A dcsignates the walls of the furnace, provided With the usual grate, doors, cte., and constructed of brick.

B desi gnates a retort of any well-known refractory material located in the eombustionehamber, the ends of the retorts supported by the Wall of the turnace and provided With plugs Z), whereby access may be had to the interier of the retorts for cleaning.

C is a pipo connected to the real' end of the retort and leading to a closed tank, D, containing crude petroleum or other hydrocarbon oil. The pipe (J extends a slight distance within the body of oil eontained in the tank, thereby forming a seal to the end of the pipe. The tank D is located within a refrigeratingtank, l, whereby the oil in said tank nay be maintained at any desired temperature.

The refrigeating agent may be Water, an air-blast, or any of the well-known equivalent temperature-redueing nediums, including those used in iee-making machines. The desired temperature of the oil is a quantity varying with the kind of oil or other hydrocarbon used, and ranges from, say, about 180 Fahrenheit to just below the temperature of the hot gas coming from the retort. The temperature of the refrigerant should be such as to maintain the hydrocarbon. in the closed tank at about a specific gravity of from, say, :H to 27 Ba'ume.

e e' indicate inlet and outlet pipes, or vice versa, for the refrigcrating materiahwhereby a continuous flow of a cooling material may be efl'ected.

F is the outlet-pipe fol-the gases, communicating with the closed tank 1), and may lead to a fiXing-chamber, a gasometer, or directly to the point of Consumption, as desired.

G is a pipo connected to the oil-tank and communieating With the injector ll, and is located in a line, g', in the furnace-Wall, Whereby the oil may be further heated and 'vaporized on its passage from the tank to the injector. It is obvious that the coil need not necessarily be located within the flue, but may be placed entirely on the outside of the furnace, and instead of a coil a single pipe may he employed. A pump (not shown) may be located between the tank and coil and communicating therewith, Whereby the oil may be forced through the coil to the injector.

N is a dampered fiue eonnunieating with the combustion-chamber of the furnace for purposes hereinafter explained.

m indicates a pipe communicating With the stcam-space of a boler (not shown) and connecting the injector II, said pipe forming a superheating-coil located in flues m', communicating with the combustion-chaniber of the furnace, Whereby the steam may be superheated on its passage from the stean-boiler to the ijector.

O' indicates a superheatingflue located in the walls of the fnrnace and connnunieating with a pipo, 0, leading from the stack N,

IOO

Whereby the products of combustion may be diverted and intcnsely hcated and delivered to the retort l.

O designates a pipe in comnunication with the open atnosplu-re or any suitable gas or vapor reservoir.

g indicates a pipe eommunicating with the tank D and injector ll', to which steam is admitted by means of a branch pipe leading from the supcrheating stcan-coil.

In order to operate the appz'rratus, an ordinarycoal-fire is, started on the grate-bz'n's, the combustion of which heats the intcriorof the furnace and the retorts, also tansmitting heat to the oil-pipes and the steam-pipes. hen the furnacc shall have become thoroughly heated, the valve on the steam-pipe being opened, the steam will pass through the steam-superheating coils to the atomizer ll, inclosed in the retort, and the oil willpass or be pumped from the tank l) through the oil-heating pipe to the atomizer ll, whence this mixture, composed priucipally of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, in combination, will be driven by the 'force of the stean through the leated retort. In consequenee of the intinate nixture by means of the atomizer of these two elements, already at a high temperature, being immediately .injected into the intensely-heated retort', the dceomposition of the steam is the more readil y efl'ccted, as well as the volatilization and gasitieation of the oils. This nixtu re being forced along the retort causes a partial vaeuum in the retortconnection at the opening of the tine (',whi-h latter is in conmunication with the staclc N, causing the products of eombustio from the furnace to be drawn through the highlyheated fine U' to the 'retort, where it is comningled with the healed uixture issuing from the atomizer ll'.

The productsof,-ombustion contain in great part earbon d ioxide, and also a not incousiderablc portion of the combustible gascs which have escaped eonbustion within the fu'uace. These gases, being intcnsely heated in their passage through the line U' and intinately mixed with the heated earbon vapor fot-med by the volatilization of the oils and thus passed through the heated retorts conmingled, the earbon dioxide enters into combination with the carbon vapor, giving oil' onehalf its oxygen to the carbon, thus forming earbon monoxide, a chemical expression of which eomhination is (U -%0:2 (CO hence in the retort the follow ing results of combination are obtained: The stean (11. 0) isdeeonposed, giving free lydr'gen and oxygen. A large proportion of the hyd rogen (rather more than one-fourth) remains free and unconbined. The remainder, together with the hydrogen from the oils, conbines with the oilearbon, forming, first, ethylene, (Qlhg) second, marsh-gas, (Cli The carbon dioxide (00 coinbines with the oil-carbon, forming earbon monoxide,((`0.) Some carbon monoxide is drawn uneonsuned in the furnacc from the staclc. The free oxygen of the steam conibines with the oil-earbon, also forning carbon monoxide. This quality of gasobviously relates to that leaving the retort through the pipe U, and its value afterward greatly enhaneed by its mixture with the volatile hydrocarbons extraeted from the oil in the closed tank l). These combinations would be impossible were not the retort heated to an extremely high temperature, and, on the other hand, were the crude oil in its natural state introduced into a retort so int'cnscly heated it lighter hydrocarbon would be deposited on the interier of the retort in the form of soot or lamp-blaek. This has heretofore been the great obstacle in converting the crude oils into a Either the lighter hydroearbons have been vaporized by retorts insu'llieiently heated to volatilize the heavier products, which, in consequcnce, remain as tar in such great quantity that the trial. has been a failure commercially, or the erude oil in its natural state has been introduced into a retort sutiiciently heatcd to volatilize theheavier products; but, as a conscfluence, the lighter lydrocarbons are entirely destroyed by the overheatin'. This obstacle I have overcone in the following manner: Un leaving the retort the heated gases pass through the pipe below the surface of the oil in the closed tank l). The hot gases in passing through a portion of the oil transmit sullieicnt heat to it to raise it to such temperature that it gives oil' its lighter hydrocarbons, which escape, together with the hot gascs from the rctort, throu 'h the pipe l leaving in the tank l) the heaverproducts of the crude oil, which can with safety be introduced intothe intensely-heated retorts. Thus the lighter hydroearbons are introduced into the .final gas at the most favorable point, and uusubjccted to any inj urious intensity of hoat, wl ile the heavier products are also utilized and subjeetcd by themselves in the rctort to the degree of hoat necessary for their volatilization. Noi-cover, in extract ing thus the lighter hydrocarbons before they are subjected to the presence of steam l prevent the breaking up of the compouuds of the olefiant gas and thus obviale the forming of eompoumls of greatly less calorilic value. As the hot gases froni the retort pass through the oil they deposit therein their tar, whiclnbeing of greater spe-` ciiic gravity than the oil in the tank, sinks to the bottom,whenee it; maybe drawn off tor any purpose or supplied to the atonizerll' in the fnrnace-door to continue the hcatof the eharge of eoal when it shall have been eonsumcd.

The oil in closed tank l) .is kept at any desired temperature by the refrigerating-tank E, which is arranged to sui-round it, as before described, or a coil through which refrigerating material can be passed may be arranged within the closed tank D 3 or, if desired, both tank and eoil or other refrigerating means may be used. This enables me to control exactly the specific gravity and the quality of IIO the oil to be fed to the retort, and conversely the quality and quantity of the volatile hyl'ocarbons to be ningled With the 'etorted gas in the escape-pipo.

\Vhen desired, the valvc on the pipe 0, leading from the stack to the air-duet O', may be closed and the valvc or the pipe opened and atmosphcric oxygen-or any other convenient gas or vapor nay be substituted for the products of combustion f'on the furnace.

I do not hei-ein claim the construction described, as such is the subject-matter of another application, Serial No. 2744379, filed May 2:?, 1888.

hat I claim is- 1. The process heroin described of manufactu'ing heating and illuminating gas, which consists in passinghighly-heated gases forned by the admixture of steam, oil, and air directly from the retort through a body of crude pctroleun mai ntai ncd ai: a tenperatu re above,

say, 180 Fahrenheit and below that of the incoming gas by a suitable refrigerant, whereby the lighter hydrocarbons of the c'ude oil are combined with the outgoing gases and the byproducts precipitatcd, substantially as described.

The process herein described of manufacturing heating and illuninatng gas, which consists in passing highly-heated gases directly from the retort through a body of crude petroleum maintained at a temperature above, say, 180 Fahrenheit and below that of the incoming gas by a suitable refrige'ant, where by the lighter hydrocarbons of the crude oil are combined with the outgoing gases and the byproducts precipitated, snbstantally as de scribed.

GEORGE K. UMMINGS,

NVitnesses:

FRANK A. MULLIKIN, .TosHUA MATLAUK, Jr. 

